Keep Holding On
by vinkunwildflowerqueen
Summary: During HBP. After finding out about the Horcruxes, Hermione finds Harry in a vulnerable moment with his doubts. H/Hr friendship fluff. Oneshot.


**Keep Holding On**

**A Harmony fic by phoenixgirl23**

**DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling, not me. **

**AN. Just some Harry/Hermione friendship fluff, inspired by the song 'Keep Holding On'. I thought it fit. May be slightly OOC and I apologise if it is. No flames please, but feel free to review!**

Hermione couldn't sleep. Although it was late, after midnight, her mind was going over the two rolls of parchment that was her Arithmancy essay that was due tomorrow… well, today technically. Although they'd had the assignment for a week and a half now, and the rolls that were sitting in her school bag was her third draft, not to mention half a roll longer than Professor Vector had asked for, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that there was something missing from her essay, and that something could be the difference between an O and an E. Or worse, a T.

Abandoning any notion of sleep, Hermione got out of bed, silently grabbing her school bag and dressing gown, before quietly leaving the dormitory and heading down the spiral staircase to the common room. She was expecting it to be empty, after all, it was one o'clock in the morning. She was startled then, to see a familiar black head sitting in his favourite chair by the fire.

"Harry?"

Harry jumped too, obviously he hadn't heard her come down the stairs. That worried Hermione, and she recognised the look in her best friend's brilliant green eyes.

"Hey, Mione. Couldn't sleep?" he asked, clearly making an effort to sound normal and she shook her head.

"I just wanted to proofread my Arithmancy essay one more time. You?"

Harry grimaced. "Just trying to digest everything. Neville's snores were making that hard to do."

Hermione smiled faintly as she sat next to him.

"Do you remember Fourth Year? Before the First Task, when I spoke to Sirius through the fire?" Harry asked her abruptly and she nodded slowly.

"Yeah. You were off with Hagrid, and I had to kick a bunch of second-years out of the corner so the room was empty," she recalled.

"And when he spoke to us about Umbridge? Remember, he'd been popping into the fire every few minutes to talk to us?" Harry continued, a faint chuckle in his voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, and then Umbridge almost caught him."

She hesitated now. It was clear Harry was deeply troubled, if he was thinking about Sirius. Hermione knew he missed his godfather, but he rarely talked about him, and the few times he had been casually mentioned in conversation, she'd seen him flinch slightly.

"Harry? Are you okay?"

He looked at her for a moment, then returned his gaze to the fire. "Just thinking. I haven't really had much time to think about… everything yet. And what it means."

"By everything, you mean the Horcruxes?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice as she said the word, although the room was empty.

Harry nodded. "The Horcruxes… where they are, _what _they are… the prophecy. It makes sense now… _for neither can live while the other survives." _

Hermione shivered as Harry recited the words that determined his fate.

"And all the while, there's a war going on outside the castle. And I can't do anything about it, I just have to sit back and watch him destroy people's lives… people's families."

Hermione's heart broke seeing Harry's guilt at that thought and reached over to take his hand.

"Harry, don't think like that. The Order is fighting against him, protecting people. And you're right, we can't do anything until we have all the answers. But Dumbledore's working on that, you know he is."

"We?" Harry repeated, raising an eyebrow at her.

"We," she said again, smiling. "Because don't think for one second you're alone in this, Harry. You have friends, a lot of friends, and Ron and I will be there fighting with you as long as it takes."

Harry squeezed her hand lightly. "I know, I can't get rid of you two," he joked lightly and Hermione laughed.

"It just feels like… it's never going to end, you know? There's no light at the end of the tunnel," Harry said, and Hermione caught a note of hopelessness in his voice.

"I know it feels that way, but there is an end. You can and will end this, Harry. But it all takes time," Hermione assured him.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she asked him and Harry hesitated, surprised.

"Er- I don't know. I mean, the Dursley's never exactly bothered teaching me about anything like that. But at the same time, hearing the prophecy- how can I not? I'm surprised you do though, I would have thought it'd be too close to Divination for you."

Hermione scowled. "Divination is guesswork and interpretations of symbols and lines, which can be interpreted a million different ways. Destiny is different, it's the believe that everything happens for a reason and we all have a purpose in this world. _That _I believe in."

"So, this War?"

"Is happening for a reason. And there is an end for it, but it won't come sooner than it's coming. There are things that have to happen as a result of this war, and only when they've happened will it end. But you can't give up in the meantime, you have to find the bright side to get you through the bad times."

"There's a bright side to _this?" _Harry asked sceptically.

She nodded. "Yes. Dumbledore trusts you enough to give you this information about Voldemort. He believes that you can finish the War, that you will survive. Ron and I believe you will survive. There's a reason the Ministry dubbed you the Chosen One," she insisted.

Harry smiled at her. "Thanks for the pep talk, Hermione."

She laughed. "I'm your best friend Harry. Whether you need a pep talk, a hug, a talk… a slap to the head, I'm willing and able," she smiled and Harry laughed.

"A slap to the head?"

"I've been tempted many times," she assured him. "I mean it, Harry. You need to believe in yourself. You've survived so much so far, you can do this too. Just don't give up. We're fighting for a better world here, and you're a very important part of that fight. And not because of any prophecy."

Harry stared at her for a long moment.

"What?" she asked him self-consciously.

He shook his head, smiling faintly. "Nothing. Déjà vu. Dumbledore said something along those lines too… about the prophecy not determining my actions, or my fate."

"There's a reason Dumbledore's a genius. Listen to him," Hermione retorted and Harry grinned, then yawned suddenly tired and his head wonderfully empty.

"Sorry I kept you from your essay," he apologised but Hermione waved him away.

"Please, I think pieces of Voldemort's soul being God-only-knows-where and the fate of the Wizarding World depending on their destruction is a _little _more important than my Arithmancy essay."

Harry supressed a smile. "Wow, I think the last time you prioritised something over schoolwork was the Polyjuice Potion."

"What about the DA?" she asked him in protest.

He scoffed. "Yes, because the DA had no educational benefits for you at all," he teased and she couldn't deny that her desire to learn for her Defence O.W.L had influenced her decision.

"You only get one shot at your education," Hermione justified her commitment to her schoolwork. "And our grades will affect us when we apply for jobs."

"You don't only get one shot. Look at Crabbe and Goyle, they're repeating some of their O.," Harry retorted.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Ok, aside from the fact you're associating me with _Crabbe and Goyle, _I wouldn't want to be known as the girl who had to retake her O.."

"Hermione, you'll never be known as less than anything as brilliant," Harry smiled and Hermione blushed slightly.

"I'm going to bed. I'll let you look over your essay again," he continued, standing up.

Hermione looked at her essay, and was suddenly exhausted. "It's probably fine the way it is, isn't it?" she asked him and Harry laughed.

"Yes. But you can always re-read it over breakfast," he suggested and Hermione smiled.

"Ok, that's true."

"Just don't sit next to Ron at breakfast," he suggested. "I don't want another repeat of the other day."

Hermione had been proofreading a Charms essay over breakfast a few days prior, not long after Ron and Lavender had broken up; and Ron had accidentally spilled maple syrup over a part of her essay. Hermione had not been impressed and Harry had had to intervene to maintain the peace that had only just returned to their trio.

"Good idea," she agreed. She stopped him just before he turned for the boy's dormitories.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He nodded. "Now I am. Thanks for listening, Mione."

She hugged him lightly. "That's what friends are for. And I meant what I said, if you need to talk- I'm here."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and bid her goodnight. Hermione sighed as she returned to bed. She truly believed that Harry would end the War… she just hadn't thought he didn't believe it himself.

"Just keep holding on, Harry," she whispered quietly to the silent dormitory.


End file.
